We have numerous technologies that can help keep a close watch on an individual's glycaemic status and thereby assist in developing successful diabetes management strategies. For more than five decades, self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) has remained as the gold standard tool to manage glycaemic status and has gained huge acceptance. Rigorous research further led to the development of more and more advanced technologies such as continuous glucose monitoring and flash glucose monitoring. These novel technologies are more promising in terms of revealing the complete glycaemic picture and even more user-friendly than the already established blood glucosemetres. However, they are yet to achieve remarkable accuracy and performance. There will also be a subgroup of patients who will be using these technologies only occasionally and thus will definitely require SMBG at other times. Again, with regard to the retrospective ones, glucose data can be obtained only once they are downloaded to the system and hence, real-time values will still have to be procured with the help of an SMBG. In future when the accuracy and performance of these newer technologies become equal to that of glucometres, the glucometres might vanish. Until then, all these technologies will definitely go hand-in-hand and supplement each other than competing each other. All the related literature were retrieved from various databases including 'PubMed' and 'Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews' using specific search terms that were relevant to the topics discussed this manuscript.

Context: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with hepatic insulin resistance (IR) and glucose intolerance. Indian data in this area are sparse, and hence, we undertook this study to find the relationship between NAFLD and diabetes. Objective: The objective of this study is to find the relationship between NAFLD and various levels of glucose intolerance and IR. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study on 150 patients aged 18 or above and diagnosed to have NAFLD by ultrasonography from October 2013 to June 2015 who were admitted or outpatients in the Department of General Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. Methodology: NAFLD was graded as mild, moderate or severe by a single radiologist using high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography system. Basic anthropometric, clinical examination and relevant biochemical investigations were done for all patients. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and post-load plasma glucose (PG) were measured in all subjects, fasting insulin levels were measured in all subjects by chemiluminescence method to determine IR and it was calculated using homeostasis model assessment model. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analysed using SPSS software version 15 and P < 0.05 considered as statistically significant. Results: The percentage of pre-diabetes and diabetes in NAFLD patients were 52.7% and 30.7% respectively, There was a greater proportion of pre-diabetics and diabetics in the higher grades of NAFLD (P < 0.001). We observed mean FPG, PG and HbA1c levels increased as the severity of NAFLD increased in this study. The overall mean HOMA-IR score in our subjects was found to be 4.68 ± 2.81 and 76.7% of patients had IR was significantly (P < 0.001) higher in Grade 2 and Grade 3 NAFLD. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes in patients with NAFLD, and this is associated with increasing IR in higher grades of NAFLD.

Background: Vernonia amygdalina (VA) is used in the traditional management of diabetes in Nigeria. Previous scientific verification of VA is on Type-1 diabetes model, in spite of the continuous increase in Type-2 diabetes (T2D) among adults. This study aimed to validate the antidiabetic effects of VA leaf fraction (VALF) in a unique T2D rat model. Materials and Methods: Methanol crude extract of VA leaf was fractionated with solvents of increasing order of polarity (n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl-acetate, n- butanol and water). The antidiabetic activities of the fractions were evaluated in vivo in T2D model rats. Albino Wistar rats were induced with T2D and treated with the VALF. Several T2D-related parameters were measured. Results: T2D rats showed significant increase in serum levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), liver and kidney biomarkers. At 28-day post-oral treatment with the VALF, FBG levels were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced (n- hexane [29.3%], chloroform [66.7%], ethyl acetate [36.2%], n- butanol [45.59%] and aqueous [39.3%]). The glucose tolerance ability was significantly improved in the chloroform fraction (Vernonia amygdalina chloroform fraction [VAc])-treated groups compared to the other fractions-treated group and diabetic control group. Furthermore, the VAc was found to be most effective as it ameliorates most of the alterations caused in the studied parameters in diabetic rats when compared with n- hexane, ethyl acetate, n- butanol and aqueous fractions. Conclusion: The study validates the anti-diabetic effects of VALF in fortified diet-fed streptozotocin-treated rat model of T2D, and suggests that the VAc is a potential candidate for development of a more effective drug for the management of T2D.

Background: There is a rising trend in the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hyperglycaemia is known to cause cardiac dysautonomia, which may lead to life-threatening arrhythmias. It can be screened by simple electrocardiogram (ECG)-based QTc (QT corrected for heart rate) and QTd (QTc dispersion) indicating cardiac repolarisation abnormality. We studied QTc and QTd intervals in treated type 2 diabetics (T2D), testing the effect of age, gender, duration and control of disease. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in a tertiary care teaching hospital of Gujarat, India, on 199 T2D (67 males and 132 females). Standard 12-lead ECG was recorded to derive QTc by Bazett's formula, QTd and ECG left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). QTc >0.43 s in male and >0.45 s in female, QTd >80 msec were considered abnormal. Results: T2D (mean age 56 years, duration 6 years, coexisting hypertension 69%, glycaemic control 32% and use of β-blockers 56%) had QTc and QTd abnormality prevalence 15% and 20% respectively with ECG LVH prevailing in 3%. Male gender, poor glycaemic control and increased duration had negative impact on QT parameters with statistical significance only for first two and not for all results. Conclusion: Our study showed low-to-moderate prevalence of prolonged QTc and QTd, qualitatively more than quantitatively, in T2D with very low LVH and high prevalence of preventive pharmacotherapy, associated with male gender and glycaemic control. It underscores high risk of repolarisation abnormality, though moderate, that can be further primarily prevented by early screening and strict disease control.

Euglycaemic diabetic ketoacidosis (euDKA) occurs in patients with poor carbohydrate intake who continue to take insulin. For these patients are not truly in the insulin-deficient state, intravenous fluid resuscitation alone can correct the ketoacidosis without any risk of hypoglycaemia. Diagnosis of euDKA can be missed in inexperienced settings; therefore, calculating anion gap and measuring ketone levels should be practiced in every sick diabetic patient regardless of glucose levels.